Time Out
by Stariceling
Summary: Heiji makes it plain that his feelings for his best friend aren't entirely on the "straight and narrow." When the fine line between love and friendship is crossed, who will be in control? Yaoi: Heiji/Shinichi, Conan/Heiji, etc. Chapter 4: A skiing trip has Heiji sharing his warmth, and Conan can't help being suspicious.
1. Prompt: Heiji and Shinichi's first kiss

I wrote this for a prompt by my friend moonypads on LJ. Sorry it's been a while since I posted any Detective Conan fic. I'll try to rectify this. I do have the second chapter of this written! I'll post it in a few days. (Basically, I'm trying to stall while I type and edit part 3. Sorry for the wait, but I hope it'll be worth it.) I don't really have a plan or a plot in place for these. Basically just a series of sweet, naughty or otherwise fun Heiji/Shinichi (Heiji/Conan, Shinichi/Heiji... you get the idea) scenes that happen along the same timeline. Please enjoy the fic!

* * *

For most people, a bad cold would be a reason to take a day off work, get plenty of rest, and maybe pick up some over-the-counter medicine to fight off a fever. For Shinichi Kudo, it was apparently an excuse to take highly suspect drugs that only served to make his fever worse, and chase a dangerous murder suspect through a nearby forest.

Not that Heiji wasn't glad to have Kudo there with him, it simply occurred to him that his friend wasn't taking as much care with his health as he might have. Heiji was also aware that he currently didn't have a leg to stand on to lecture Kudo in that particular area, not after his own scuffle with the dangerous criminal in question.

'Dangerous' was a subjective term in this case. Heiji had sustained more damage sliding and falling unceremoniously into a ditch along with his cornered suspect than he had when the man tried to stab him. The assorted bruises and cuts from his awkward fall certainly hurt more than the shallow knife wound in his thigh. The latter was hardly even bleeding.

Of course, Heiji thought he was much more likely to die of embarrassment than as a result of any injury. He would have to fall on his face, in a ditch, right in front of Kudo.

"You're such a hothead, it's a wonder you've survived this long!"

Heiji winced, more from the ungentle ministrations of Kudo scrubbing at the cuts on his face than from his obvious irritation. He was used to getting lectured for being heedless, and as long as it got the job done he would keep on the same way.

"Oi, Kudo. What're we gonna do about him?" Heiji jerked his head towards their suspect, who was incapacitated more thanks to Heiji than to the fall.

He hoped to distract Kudo from playing world's crankiest nursemaid for at least a minute. Unfortunately, Kudo's passing glance for the unconscious man only seemed to remind him that Heiji hadn't just taken a graceless fall. He eyes locked almost immediately on the slice on Heiji's leg, or at least the blood seeping through the leg of his jeans.

"Hold still," Kudo demanded. Before Heiji could even blink he found himself staring as Kudo unbuckled his belt, then unfastened the front of his jeans.

He didn't even think about questioning the action, lifting himself enough to let Kudo tug his jeans down to his knees. Heiji almost had to swallow his own tongue to avoid letting any incarnation of the phrase 'sexual healing' slip out of his mouth. He didn't know how Kudo of all people could be unaware of how this looked, but if enlightening him meant losing the vision of Kudo kneeling between his legs, Heiji wasn't going to say a word.

Heiji was wondering if that fall had knocked him silly after all when Kudo pressed his handkerchief hard against the wound. The unexpected pain of that gesture made him hiss through his clenched teeth, but it still wasn't enough to shift his attention from Kudo's closeness, or the feeling of Kudo's hands pressing on his bare skin.

Very quickly it became unimportant that Kudo's grip was rough enough to hurt, or that he was still glaring at Heiji like he'd done something unforgivably foolish. All Heiji cared about were the simple facts of proximity and touch, and the fact that he need only tilt his head up a few degrees to kiss Kudo on the mouth.

Heiji wasn't fully aware of that last impulse until after he had already acted on it, and by then he thought it was surely too late to stop. He brushed light kisses back and forth across Kudo's lips, trying to encourage him to join in. He wanted to trace the texture of Kudo's mouth with his fingers, or even his tongue, but the first would have meant breaking off the kiss, and he thought Kudo might slug him if he tried the second.

For the first few seconds Kudo was frozen, not even pressing his lips closed to prevent Heiji from taking further liberties. When he finally moved it was to clench both hands hard over the wound on Heiji's thigh. It hurt, but Heiji still thought it was better than having Kudo jerk away. He pressed in, deepening the kiss from butterfly touches to an unmistakable demand for more.

Kudu made a sound that might have been protest, but all Heiji heard was a muffled, "Mmphf!" He responded with a low moan in his throat, trying to at least make his own feelings plain.

It took another moment for Kudo to jerk his head back, breaking off the kiss. In some distant part of his mind, Heiji was amazed at how long he had allowed it to go on. The rest of him was more concerned with the fact that Kudo was practically shaking in anger.

"You wouldn't beat me up when I'm already injured."

'Injured' was probably stretching it, but Heiji tried to put on his best pitiful face to go with that statement. Considering his head was still spinning with pleasure from having kissed Kudo, he doubted it was very effective.

Heiji got an open-handed smack across the top of his head, followed by Kudo trying to back up so quickly that he tripped over Heiji's jeans in the process. That scramble to get away from him hurt a lot more than the smack. More than any injury, in fact.

And even more than the sudden panic, what hurt most was the idea that one little kiss had lost him a friend. He'd held back up until then, thinking Kudo would try to shut him out the minute he confessed that his feelings for his friend didn't lie on the straight and narrow, and it looked like his fears were well founded. Kudo wouldn't even meet his eyes.

Even after Conan's 'reappearance,' he refused to even talk to Heiji. He just kept looking sideways at Heiji, touching his mouth, and quickly turning his face away.


	2. Prompt: Heiji and Conan's first kiss

I guess this is a bit of an early update. Quite the change for me. Anyway, here's the second part of the fic for my prompt from moonypads! I do have a couple more scenes I want to write in this same 'timeline.' This one has Heiji/Conan (Conan/Heiji, same diff.), more kissing, etc. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

"You gave me your cold last time, you know."

"_Whose_ fault was it that you caught my cold?"

It was the closest they had come so far to talking about what had happened before, about the kiss that Heiji had stolen. Heiji had wanted to bring it up earlier, knowing that Kudo was more likely to hold a grudge than to let it slide, but he hadn't gotten the chance. Every time he phoned he found himself cut off before he could even start to explain.

Which was how Heiji had ended up traveling all the way to Tokyo, just for the chance to talk to Kudo for more than forty seconds. For once he had a little luck on his side. He met Ran on her way out, and managed to 'volunteer' himself to look after Conan for a little while.

That gave him the chance he'd wanted, to talk to Kudo without the risk of being cut off by a dial tone. The only problem was that Kudo–currently making his appearance as Conan–was still in a black mood, and seemed to prefer pretending that Heiji wasn't sitting right in front of him. His point that it was Heiji's own fault if he caught a cold was the first real response Heiji had gotten out of ten straight minutes of pestering.

Finally, as if only just realizing Heiji wasn't going to leave him alone, Conan asked, "What are you doing here, Hattori?"

"Hm? I missed ya." Heiji aimed his most sincere smile at Conan, which seemed to have absolutely no effect. "Didn't you miss me?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Ouch. That's cold, Kudo. Aren't we friends?"

Conan crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, glowering at Heiji. It left Heiji wondering what he had done to deserve a poisonous look like that. One little kiss didn't seem to be enough to warrant such a glare.

"Cut it out already. You keep saying we're friends whenever you want an excuse for something. You're the one who hasn't been acting like a friend lately."

"Excuse me!?" Heiji jumped to his feet, stung. "What's that supposed to mean? _I'm_ not the one who's been cutting _you_ off, ya jerk!"

"You know exactly what I mean!"

Heiji did have a pretty good idea what he meant, no matter how vague Conan insisted on being, but that didn't mean he was anywhere close to right. He strode over to where Conan was sitting and couldn't help noticing how his friend tensed at his approach. In one motion he knelt and braced his hands on either side of Conan's knees, leaning forward until they were nose-to-nose.

"Let me make this clear for you. I _love _you, even when you're being a little idiot." Heiji saw Conan's eyes dilate when he stressed the word 'love,' and could only hope it was from fascination instead of fear. "But that's no reason why I can't like you as a friend. Our friendship is precious to me, so don't you dare say I'm the one acting like it doesn't matter.

"If you really can't handle that, then it's about time you admitted it instead of being all passive aggressive about it." Heiji paused, then swallowed hard in an attempt to force down his nerves. He'd snarled bits and pieces of that confession to the dial tone Conan kept leaving him with, but never all at once like that.

After a second of watching Conan's apparently frozen face, he added, "It's fine if you're not interested in. . . that. But I want to make sure you know, because you're obviously getting it wrong. And unless the thought of being anywhere close to me gives you nightmares or something, I still want to be friends with you."

"Hattori, you. . ." Conan interrupted himself with a slow, deep breath, and Heiji found himself holding his own breath, anticipating the words he most wanted to hear.

"Idiot."

"You're the idiot," Heiji shot back. "What, are you just going to pretend I never said anything to you?"

"I don't see why it would make a difference."

Heiji didn't believe for a minute that Kudo could just forget what he had done and said. He was convinced it wasn't just a matter of his own pride that made him unwilling to accept that. The silent treatment he had received before was evidence enough that Kudo was not one to just forgive and forget. If he was going to be cut off over this, he was going to at least make Kudo admit to what he was doing.

"So this doesn't bother you?" Heiji reached up and slid Conan's glasses off as he spoke. "The idea that I want to. . . ."

He didn't need to finish, leaving it open to interpretation as he suggestively inched their mouths closer. He expected an explosive reaction, to be kicked and pushed away. Instead Conan squeezed his eyes shut, looking more like he expected to have a bucket of ice water upended over his head than like someone anticipating a kiss.

"Chill out. I have more self control than that." Heiji sat back on his heels, temporarily satisfied that he had at least proven his point.

Conan's eyes snapped open, and from the look on his face, Heiji expected a good, sharp kick at the very least. The last thing he expected was for Conan to grab the front of his shirt, haul him forward again, and kiss him on the mouth.

It was too far from what Heiji had expected for him to even process what was happening. He simply reacted, dragging Conan off of the couch and into his lap. Completely forgetting to hold back, Heiji took control of the kiss, demanding ever more from Conan's soft lips.

When Conan jerked back, panting for breath, it was all Heiji could do not to follow and try to seal their mouths together again. He settled for dropping kisses on Conan's cheeks, his chin, and anywhere else he could reach without drifting too far from Conan's lips.

Conan allowed himself to be pressed against Heiji's chest, but hid his face in Heiji's shoulder to forestall further kisses. Unable to let it go, Heiji shifted his attention to Conan's neck and shoulder, kissing anywhere he could reach. He pulled the open neck of Conan's t-shirt to one side, exposing his collar bone and proceeding to lathe it with his tongue.

Shuddering at the touch, Conan clenched his hands on Heiji's shoulders instead of pushing away. Heiji paused, having to force down his sudden desire to expose and taste even more skin.

"Do you hate it?"

"No, you idiot. Of course I don't hate it." Conan lifted his head, though his gaze remained fixed on Heiji's shoulder. It took a supreme effort of self control, at least on Heiji's part, not to interrupt their conversation with more kisses.

"Hey, Kudo? Do you like me?" Heiji whispered. His voice was rough with all of the nuances that he couldn't say out loud, but he knew his friend could hear them. It was embarrassing enough to have to come out and ask something like that. The last thing Heiji wanted to do was ask for a specific degree of 'liking' and increase his chances of being shot down.

"Don't ask."

Heiji caught Conan by the chin, studying the way the young detective avoided his eyes. He dropped a single, brief kiss on Conan's mouth, and watched the way his eyes slid closed, feeling his lips soften and part. There were too many different emotions that could be hiding behind that request of, 'Don't ask,' and Heiji wanted desperately to know. . . .

"Okay," he agreed. He couldn't blame Conan for staring at him in surprise when he gave in so easily. He couldn't think of a single thing he had wanted more in his life than to find answers, to unravel secrets and cut straight down to the truth hidden inside; and more than any other mystery he had encountered, he had wanted to know Shinichi Kudo.

Heiji smiled at the incredulous disbelief on Conan's face. He didn't need to be told anything. After all, he had discovered Kudo's secrets before using only the evidence before him and his own instincts. Heiji trusted in his ability to find any answer that he truly needed.

"Just promise me you'll let me keep doing this," Heiji coaxed, pressing another kiss to Conan's mouth to leave no doubt as to what 'this' was.

Conan blushed bright red, trying and failing to look irritated with Heiji. "Great. Now I'm never going to know what perverted thing you really have in mind when you get close to me."

"Then you be the one to instigate things." Heiji put one hand over Conan's mouth before he could interrupt with an angry protest. "You be the one to make that decision, any time we go past being friends. You're worth waiting for."

Heiji had the miserable suspicion that after making a promise like that he might be waiting forever, but. . . Kudo had already 'instigated' things twice now (Heiji maintained that taking off his clothes counted, whatever nonsexual ulterior motive Kudo had at the time). He would probably do so again, sooner or later.

For now, Heiji was simply going to enjoy the opportunity presented by having Conan in his arms, and in his lap. He wanted to steal as many kisses as possible, before the barriers came back up and Conan tried to push him away again.


	3. Prompt: Heat

Finally a third part for this series. I just want to say **thank you so much** to everyone who has read and enjoyed this story! Knowing people are enjoying reading about Heiji and Shinichi has been my inspiration to pick up this fic again. I'm sorry this has taken so long to finish and post. I'm currently working through my backlog of finished and half-finished fics, and this was at the top of my list of things that needed to be posted! I really hope everyone will enjoy this as much as the first two parts. Thank you so much for your support and I hope to finish another chapter soon!

* * *

It was midsummer the next time Heiji had a chance to be alone with Kudo as Shinichi, rather than as Conan. That random occurrence quickly turned into an unexpectedly perfect chance. He had Kudo all to himself for once, even considering the usual luck they had when they met up together.

Heiji didn't care that the weather was hellishly hot, that the air conditioning was broken, or any of the rest of the minor inconveniences of their trip. He was sharing a room with Kudo, and for once he didn't have to share his friend with anyone else. Nothing else mattered.

At least, nothing else should have mattered. When Kudo finally returned to their shared room and flopped listlessly onto Heiji's bed he looked half-dead from the heat. Or maybe it was mere disappointment. When a supposed theft turned into a badly conceived attempt at insurance fraud, Kudo had gone from irritated to outright bored with the entire thing.

Heiji had a pretty good idea of how to put a little life back into his companion. He rolled over, practically on top of Kudo, and draped one arm over him.

"You're in my bed, Kudo," he pointed out. It was half warning.

When he got no response, Heiji started to kiss the back of Kudo's neck. He smoothed his hands down Kudo's back, moving to untuck his shirt and pulling it up.

"Cut it out." The annoyance in Kudo's voice was just shy of venomous. "Didn't you say I decide when you can do stuff like that?"

"Kudo, you're in my bed," Heiji repeated. It wasn't like he'd sacked out here out of laziness. Heiji had claimed the bed further from the door. "You went out of your way to join me."

"Because this one's closer to the window. It's way too hot for your shenanigans today."

"Hm," Heiji murmured as his touched his lips to the side of Kudo's neck again. "A likely story." The window might be wide open in an attempt to compensate for the broken air conditioning, but Heiji doubted it was doing much of anything.

Heiji slid both hands up under Kudo's untucked shirt.

"Hattori, I told you it's too hot for this!"

Heiji sat up, rolling Kudo over on his back and kneeling over him. He started to unbutton Kudo's shirt. "I can do something about that."

Kudo sat up just enough to bodily knock Heiji to the floor. "If I say it's too hot for that, then it's too hot," he insisted as he rolled over, effectively claiming Heiji's bed.

In spite of his disappointment, Heiji couldn't help noticing that Kudo had only objected to the heat, not to being kissed. It only took a minute for him to think of the perfect way to cool those objections.

Heiji searched around the room for a bowl or basin of some sort, ignoring the way Kudo kept watching him. He quickly settled for the empty ashtray sitting on the bedside table and took that with him into the bathroom.

Turning the tap on, Heiji ran the water until it was as cold as it was going to get before filling his borrowed ashtray. He carried the cool water back into their shared room and set it beside the bed.

That done, Heiji resumed his attempts to open up Kudo's button-down shirt.

"I _told_ you-"

"Just let me try something to cool you down," Heiji coaxed.

Much to his surprise, Kudo let his shirt be unbuttoned, though he kept giving Heiji suspicious looks. His expression made it more than clear that Heiji would regret any unwelcome advances he made at that moment, but Heiji was confident in his plan.

Pulling out a clean handkerchief, Heiji dipped the thin cloth in his cool water and wrung it out so that it was merely damp.

With exaggerated care, Heiji draped the handkerchief over Kudo's chest. Ignoring the look of confused disapproval he was getting, Heiji started to bathe Kudo's sweaty chest and neck with the cool, damp cloth.

Almost immediately Kudo seemed to melt, going limp under Heiji's hands. Heiji couldn't help grinning at his success. It was quite gratifying to see the suspicion go out of Kudo's expression as his eyes slid half-closed, even if it was in response to the coolness and not the fact that Heiji was stroking and petting him.

"Better?"

"Mm," Kudo agreed. "A little."

Heiji moved up to bathe Kudo's face and neck first, sneakily stroking skin with his bare fingertips on each pass he made with the cloth.

Next he moved down to give Kudo's bare chest some proper attention. He painted patterns over bare skin, tracing the lean lines of muscles or making vague loops and whorls where he pleased. Heiji only needed to stop occasionally to recharge the cloth with more cool water.

He thought he heard a deep, appreciative noise when he accidentally brushed his handkerchief over one of Kudo's nipples, and he couldn't help dropping the cloth right there to rub circles around and over Kudo's nipple with his fingers, trying to see just how sensitive it was.

"Hattori," Kudo groaned in protest, "Not _there_. Keep going."

Heiji shuddered at the sharp fission of desire that went through him. Even when Kudo opened his eyes and gave him a warning glare that distinctly said, 'You know what I meant,' Heiji was far more aware of what he wanted it to mean.

It was all he could do to pick up the handkerchief and move on to Kudo's stomach, rubbing spirals over his abs with mostly chaste touches. That groan was still echoing in Heiji's ears, and all he could think about was painting the same lines with his fingers and tongue, leading down and down until. . . .

Heiji reached to unfasten Kudo's slacks, but when he looked up for permission all he got was a scowl. Not a good sign.

"Just let me cool you down a little more," Heiji coaxed.

"Not with those wandering hands of yours."

"I would leave your underwear on."

"No."

There was no negotiating his way around a flat-out no. Especially not when Kudo delivered it in a tone better suited to, 'Drop it. Bad dog.'

Heiji gave up on getting into Kudo's pants in favor of the more neutral territory of his arms, and Kudo obliged him by shrugging off his shirt. It was still pleasant to stroke his way up one arm and down the other, ending with Kudo's left hand clasped In both of his.

"Better?" Heiji asked again before pressing a kiss to Kudo's knuckles.

"Fine."

Kudo rolled onto his side, propping himself up on one arm to watch Heiji lay light kisses along the inside of his arm. Heiji kept his gaze while trying to give the sensitive inside of Kudo's elbow some proper attention.

"You are really persistent."

The complaint went right in one ear and out the other as Kudo's fingers brushed under his chin. It only took the lightest touch to make Heiji respond, moving until they were nose to nose. Kudo's head tilted toward him, so tantalizingly close that Heiji had no choice but to close the gap between them to kiss him on the mouth.

From the first brush Heiji found himself being kissed back. Lips parted under his, letting him deepen the kiss so easily. Kudo's mouth was hot and slick, and Heiji had no presence of mind to do anything but feel. He savored the warm breath on his face from Kudo breathing hard through his nose and the way Kudo's hand suddenly grabbed at his shoulder and clutched his shirt.

Heiji didn't even break the kiss properly. He hovered, lips still just barely brushing lips, long enough to see that Kudo's eyes had slid closed. It was long enough to know that attempts at moderation be damned, he didn't want to stop.

"_Kudo,_" was the only word he could find to express that before he sealed their mouths together again.

Maybe he dove in a little too eagerly, catching Kudo hard enough that he protested into Heiji's mouth and fell onto his back on the bed. The next minute Heiji felt a hand at the back of his head, fingers digging into his scalp hard enough to discourage him from moving again. It was obvious enough that Kudo wasn't ready to stop kissing either.

Heiji took this as an invitation to climb up onto the bed again. He straddled Kudo's body, running his hands over the bare skin he had just bathed.

Kudo bucked under his hands, and for second he thought things were going well, until Kudo shoved him off again. At least this time he landed on the bed.

Before he could ask what he had down wrong, Kudo rolled towards him and kissed him again. He leaned one arm into Heiji's chest, preventing him from throwing his whole body into the kiss this time, but the light touch of Kudo's lips on his negated the sting of being pushed away. It was good to know Kudo wasn't rejecting his attention just on principle.

"You're like a human furnace," Kudo complained. "I already told you, it's too hot to have you crawling all over me."

"Want to take a cold shower with me?" Heiji suggested.

"Not when you manage to make it sound that dirty."

Heiji simply grinned. He ran his fingers up and down Kudo's jaw and over the back of his neck. He was so addicted to kissing Kudo, he didn't care what stipulations went with it.

"You're going to want to sleep with me once it gets cold," Heiji predicted happily. "I can wait."

He only meant 'sleep' in the sense of actual sleep, but the irritated look Kudo gave him suggested he had interpreted it as something else. Not that Heiji would have minded if the cold got Kudo in the mood for something more involved than sleep.

"Don't count on it," Kudo snapped.

His tone wasn't too welcoming now, but that didn't stop him from returning the light kiss Heiji offered him. How could Heiji care about words when actions were so much more satisfying?

"Too late," Heiji whispered. He was already looking forward to the moment when Kudo would enjoy soaking up his body heat.


	4. Prompt: Cold

Once again working through a backlog of half-finished fics and I found this chapter. I think I needed a little time to come back and rewrite it in a way I would be satisfied with, but that was really taking much too long! I'm so sorry to make people wait so long. Hopefully the next chapter won't require me to be playing catch-up to finish (of course as soon as I started working on it again I get more ideas. I hope I can write some of them and not leave people waiting years for the next bit of Heiji/Shinichi fluff!) I wish I could give you a present of more fun makeouts in this chapter, but it turned out what it really needed was frustrated Conan.

I can't say **thank you** enough to everyone who has read and enjoyed this fic! We really need more Heiji/Shinichi, right? So let me offer my own small contribution.

* * *

A peaceful vacation was exactly what Conan needed once in a while, and it seemed like that was what he was actually going to get. From the minute they met Heiji and Kazuha at the station their luck had been normal to the point of boring. Heiji hadn't even crouched down to whisper in his ear the way he usually did. Even the weather was cooperating, staying cold and clear. The skiing trip that Conan had subconsciously expected to end with them snowbound at the very least had so far been uneventful.

Conan hadn't realized how much he had gotten used to cases popping up wherever he went until an uneventful weekend out with everyone was enough to put him on edge. Not even a hint of disaster struck, and Heiji was being much too well behaved. He'd kept his hands firmly in his pockets, and off of Conan, the whole trip up to the slopes. That wasn't normal.

Of course Conan was keeping an eye on his energetic friend. He was just waiting for Heiji to pull something. In the meantime he kind of enjoyed watching Heiji snowboarding, making a fool of himself when he tried to show off.

Heiji noticed him watching, and flashed a cheeky grin back, but it only got him in a stupidly competitive mood that involved trying to weave around Conan. When they collided and ended up wrestling in the snow, Heiji hadn't even pulled any of his usual tricks. He let Conan 'win,' holding back as if he really was just playing with a normal kid. Conan got him back for that by sitting on his chest and washing his face with snow.

When Conan was bucked off and pinned, he expected something completely different from the handful of snow that ended up down the back of his neck in retaliation. His muscles sang with frustrated anticipation that said he should be doing something, but he didn't know what. He didn't move until Heiji helped him up.

That false good behavior couldn't last forever. Especially not when a 'girl's night out' to the main lodge was declared, and they were left to make their way back to their cabin together.

Left to his own devices and with nothing else to occupy him, Conan ended up crawling straight into the nearest bed, still in his damp clothes. He hovered somewhere between sleep and sulking, determined that he wouldn't say a thing about Heiji's distant attitude. Heiji would just take it as permission to start something.

"Kudo, you're in my bed again."

He had noticed Heiji's bag on the end of the bed, but had somehow ignored what that implied. Last time he'd climbed into a bed Heiji had already claimed, hadn't Heiji taken that as 'starting things?'

As soon as he had thought of that, Heiji was prying him out from under the covers. Conan found himself yanked out of his warm hiding place and into Heiji's lap.

"Hattori!"

"Don't get my bed all wet!"

Conan hadn't given much thought to his damp clothes, but sure enough Heiji yanked his sweater up over his head, stripping it off. It was natural to guess that Heiji had a less-than-innocent motive.

When Heiji stripped off his pants with the same quick efficiency, Conan seized the opportunity to kick him in the stomach. He was shivering already, covered in goose bumps, but he blamed Heiji for that more than the cold.

"Give me back my clothes! It's cold!"

"You're cold because you've been sitting around in damp clothes." Heiji paused long enough to look around. "Where's you bag? You brought dry clothes, right?"

"I left it in the car." Conan had forgotten about it. He really was in a slump today.

"Oh, great. Come here." Heiji pulled up his own sweater with one hand before scooping Conan into his lap and tugging the sweater down to cover him.

For a moment Conan was frozen in place, thrown off by the sudden warmth and closeness of being tucked inside Heiji's clothes. He always knew right away what Heiji was doing, so why did he feel off-kilter now?

Heiji shifted him up until he could put his head up thought the neck of Heiji's sweater. Heiji was grinning at him, but he didn't even try to take an easy kiss from Conan while they were nose-to-nose. Maybe he knew Conan would bite him if he tried.

Supporting Conan with one arm, Heiji stood and went to hang up his damp clothes to dry. He moved next to rummage through his own back, still holding Conan to his chest.

"I guess you could borrow one of my sweaters for a while."

"Then why did you have to pick me up?"

"This is cosier, isn't it?" Heiji abandoned his search for a fresh sweater and flopped comfortably onto the bed, still hugging Conan to his chest. He was grinning, inviting Conan to agree.

"You keep saying stupid things."

Conan's feet kept slipping out into the cold air. Before he could complain Heiji had pulled the covers up over both of them, all the way up to Conan's head.

"Warm now?" He beamed at Conan.

Conan didn't answer. The warmth was all Heiji's body heat seeping up through his thin undershirt. He let himself relax and stretch his legs until he was laying flat on Heiji's chest. Heiji's warmth felt better than he ever would have admitted out loud. It was bad enough that he could feel himself practically melting into it, even allowing Heiji to rest one hand on the back of his head. Heiji made the perfect human heating pad when he cooperated like this. Conan didn't even mind when Heiji's other arm joined the first, resting heavy across his back.

He even smelled nice, Conan slowly realized. There was a faint scent of cloves and orange peels, and he wondered distantly at the thought of Heiji using some kind of fancy soap. It didn't seem like him to care about things like that.

It was only because he was so warm and comfortable now that he was letting his mind wander into such nonsensical areas. It was funny, because he knew he wouldn't be so willing to soak up Heiji's warmth like this in the summer.

Belatedly Conan remembered Heiji's prediction from the aftermath of their last case together. 'You're going to want to sleep with me once it gets cold.' Warm as Heiji might be, there was no way Conan was sleeping with him just because of that! He'd almost let Heiji have his way without a fight.

As if on cue, Heiji let out a sigh. Conan jerked his head up to fix his sneaky friend with a poisonous glare.

Heiji didn't even notice. He was sleeping peacefully, taking deep slow breaths with a faint smile of contentment soft on his lips.

"How can you just fall asleep in a situation like this?" Wasn't Heiji the one who had been trying so hard to cuddle up to him and get him into bed? And what did he do when he finally had what he wanted? He went to sleep!

But if Heiji was asleep, wasn't it safe to stay in this warm comfort for a little longer? Sure, he could probably escape now, and it would probably discourage Heiji a little to know he'd wasted his chance. He needed to be discouraging Heiji. He couldn't keep letting himself get swept up in it every time Heiji kissed him.

He just wanted to soak up some of this warmth while he had the chance. The slow rise and fall of Heiji's stomach with each breath and the warm weight of Heiji's arm across his back were more comfortable than he could have guessed. Warm and sleepy, Conan let his cheek rest against Heiji's chest once again. There was no reason for him to be annoyed that Heji had wasted his chance. It wasn't like _he_ wanted anything to happen.

Heiji looked so peaceful in his sleep. Conan was so used to endless displays of high emotion, it made him want to pull on Heiji's stupid face. He actually reached up and brushed his fingers across Heiji's cheek, but thought better of pinching Heiji and waking him up.

Looking at his own hand against Heiji's cheek, he almost didn't notice that it was too small. Even when Heiji took advantage of his size to do things like tucking him inside his sweater, being with him made Conan feel like who he was supposed to be, not the small body people saw. He accidentally brushed the corner of Heiji's lips with one finger, and for some reason it felt as if his heart was beating a little faster. He traced his fingertip slowly along Heiji's lower lip. Maybe Heiji's crazy, out-there, delusional ideas were contagious. . .

Heiji made a noise deep in his throat and turned into the touch, making Conan snatch his hand away. He kept going, but his seeking mouth only found a fold of the comforter. The throaty noise he made sounded far too much like, 'Kudo,' followed by a contented little moan that made it clear to Conan that even if Heiji could keep his hands to himself for a few hours he still had the same things in mind.

Ducking down under the covers, Conan somehow wiggled out of Heiji's sweater without waking him and slipped out of bed.

The cool air was even more uncomfortable after being tucked against Heiji's warmth. His clothes would still be damp, so he raided Heiji's bag for a clean sweater, which felt nice and soft against his skin. Not as warm as being in bed with Heiji, but better than sitting around in nearly naked.

Somehow he ended up perched on the bed beside Heiji, swinging his legs over the edge, shooting glances back at his sleeping friend. In his absence Heiji had spooned himself around the pillow, cuddling it against his chest.

He knew he shouldn't feel disappointed just because nothing like a case had come up on his vacation, but he told himself that restless unspent mental energy was all that was bothering him. He definitely wasn't frustrated that Heiji had kept that promise not to make the first move.


End file.
